1. We Trade Diseases

In his ground-shaking 1997 book, Guns, Germs, And Steel: The Fates Of Human Societies, Jared Diamond describes a robust, thriving pre-Columbian New World. Societies, empires, cultures, and nations rose, fell, made peace, made war, traded, crafted, and learned together. But by the time the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock, the great Native American societies were in ruins—even the ones that had never experienced the misfortune of a Cortez or a Pisarro. Why?

Because of germs! Europeans had spent generations in packed cities, often living in close proximity to farm animals from whom they caught diseases like smallpox and influenza. Other than llamas, some small rodents, and dogs, domesticable animals just weren't prevalent in the New World. This was a piece of bad luck for Native Americans. Without exposure to the germ vectors of hogs, chickens, and cows, they didn't have the chance to develop the kind of anti-microbial resistance that Europeans took for granted. Illnesses that were minor to the invaders were deadly to the natives. Plagues brought from Europe wiped out up to 90 percent of some indigenous nations before the Pilgrims even embarked from England.

This scenario might be a good analogy for what might happen if technologically advanced aliens reach Earth. Who knows what kinds of diseases they've developed? We could face anything from superplagues that evolved in megacities to nanobots left over from cosmic wars. This assumes that we're similar enough to the aliens to share diseases, which of course isn't a given. But in a scenario like this, it wouldn't matter whether E.T. were friendly or not. We'd have to keep our distance until we figured out how to interact without getting sick.

2. They Raid Us For Resources

If there's one thing that human beings have discovered, it's that stuff is valuable. Planets are finite sources of metal and water. If we use up what we've got, we could find ourselves in a corner someday. Imagine a world that has run out of zinc! There's also a chance that we could pollute our air and water so much that we'd need to go off-planet to find new sources of these vital keys to life.

Whether aliens make the same environmental and resource allocation mistakes as us, there's a good chance that they're dealing with limited resources, too. The drive to find new raw materials could even be the whole for an E.T. space program. Materials that aliens find important could include elements that are common in the universe, like water, or they could be more specific to planets with life. Oxygen and oil, for example, are by-products of planets with microbial activity.

If aliens come to Earth for a resource grab, we humans might find ourselves in deep trouble. If the resource that the aliens want is critical to life, like oxygen, then we might have to fight for our very lives against a technologically superior foe. On the other hand, E.T. might want to trade instead. This would work out well if what they want is valuable, but not critical. (For example, we have alternatives to oil and could probably trade that.) Earth's economy would become an engine that supported an alien hunger for the desired resource.

Depending on how smart we were about it, this kind of setup might be beneficial for us in the end. Consider the example of Iceland. Having found some surprise oil in their territory, this small and politically unimportant country shepherded its bonanza, carefully saving the profits. Knowing that they wouldn't have crude deposits forever, Iceland invested wisely and eventually became a more powerful nation.

If humans ever meet resource-hungry aliens, we could use the profits from our economic relationship with them to prepare for the moment when that resource expired.

3. We Take Advantage Of Them

We tend to assume that aliens would be superior to us in every way. That would not necessarily be the case. Their emotional and mental lives might be very different from ours. Maybe we'll be the first aliens they've ever encountered.

While it's possible that aliens will be as competitive as we are, there's also a chance that they'll understand social relationships much differently. In the animal kingdom, we see many examples of societies, like ants, where individuals work together for the good of the whole rather than that of the individual. If such a society encountered us, our human ability to lie and act contrary to the greater good might confuse them. It would be the perfect opportunity for humans to show our new interstellar neighbors just how un-neighborly we can be.

In a case like this, it seems likely that humans would first steal some alien travel technology. Whoever gets their hands on the secrets of interstellar flight could become very rich and powerful. If it were possible to easily lie or cheat aliens out of that advantage, some human somewhere would definitely try. After that, medical and computing advances would be most valuable, and eventually, someone would become curious about alien biology and behavior. As a species, we don't have a great track record when it comes to experimentation on other living things. While many humans fear being "probed" by extraterrestrials, it's quite possible that we'll become the bogeymen in the end.

4. They Make Us A Project... Possibly With An Agenda

Let's face it: we've really messed up our planet. Aside from the obvious—overfishing, deforestation, strip mines—we're also constantly at war with ourselves. While Stephen Pinker thinks we've gotten more peaceful over the past several thousand years, we still struggle to resolve the us v. them conflict. This is why we still have war, racism, and genocide. For every two steps forward, we seem to take one back.

Alien "humanitarians" might find us a very appealing case. After all, if they can save our benighted planet from itself, who knows? Maybe the universe isn't such a cold place after all.

Just like with our other examples, we can take a page from the book of human history when we're considering this scenario. We have a word for outsiders who come in to assist less developed societies: missionaries. Organizations like the Peace Corps and the Mormon Church take a lot of criticism for trying to roll over other cultures and turn them American or Christian. Proponants may argue that the Peace Corps is just trying to improve people's lives, but improvement can look a lot like conversion. Let's not forget that the Peace Corps started during the Cold War, a time when the US needed to manufacture allies. "Converting" smaller nations to the American Way by giving them amenities that their own governments couldn't afford would have been a very good way to buy people's loyalty.

If E.T. is anything like us, we might want to look askance at any unilateral offer of help. Maybe the aliens are just altrustic. On the other hand, they might just want to recruit new adherents of their religion or way or life. Maybe they're even in a Cold War of their own.

5. They Just Watch

Say what you will about human beings, but we are absolutely fascinating. Whether you imagine Uatu the Watcher, an alien Nature Channel, or the universe's most interesting anthill, aliens might just prefer to spectate. It's the least work, and frankly, imagine the ratings. If they use money, whoever makes human news and entertainment broadcasts available galaxy-wide will be rolling in it. With all the new superhero shows and movies coming out, humanophiles universe-wide will have plenty of binge watching lined up without having to come down and meet us. Humans are already plenty entertaining. Why mess up a good thing?

Move over Syfy channel, Netflix is moving at light speed. For science fiction fans, Netflix is a destination point for great content. Whether you are watching your favorite film for the 100th time or looking for something new to binge watch, Netflix has an enormous pool of sci-fi movies and TV shows to choose from. Netflix is incredibly popular with the demanding sci-fi fanbase. Boasting a wide selection of science fiction oldies, cult favorites, and new picks, Netflix takes you down a deep rabbit hole. After the introduction of original content, Netflix firmly established itself both as studio and distributor. Sense8 took original science fiction programming to a new level, and the BBC's Black Mirror gave the millennials their own version of The Twilight Zone. The list is sure to generate debate amongst die hard sci-fi fans.

One day we will clone a woolly mammoth. A discovered gene that kept mammoths warm in their arctic habitat could be the answer to cloning the animal today. Although there have been other clones such as Dolly the Sheep, the clone of a woolly mammoth is especially spectacular because it is an extinct animal that no human has ever come in contact with before. While it is unsure when the cloning will take place, it is inevitable. As with a great deal of science, it is derived by the pursuit of science fiction. Perhaps geneticists will one day turn to Hollywood to inspire them in their pursuit of genetic cloning in the best clone movies.

Everyone knows Halo and Call of Duty but they don&rsquo;t get your creative juices flowing! We compiled a list of the most creative video games. These games are unique, and develop your creativity far more than other video games. Some of the games allow you to create anything you want, while other games just have a unique gameplay and plot.

J.J. Abrams may have rebooted the beloved galaxy of far, far away forward into the previously static Star Wars timeline, but to truly appreciate the expanse of George Lucas’ universe, it is perhaps better to take a step back. By exploring the unexamined nooks and crannies of the Star Wars universe, we are exposed to regions, realms, and characters that, even though they have never seen the big screen (yet), have a compelling and inspiring tale to tell.

There are countless portals through which one can access transhumanism and sex. However, it is through Kanamara-sama Shrine that a uniquely Japanese version can be connected to the fiction style of sexpunk.

Science fiction artist and illustrator Vincent Di Fate is a master of unseen worlds. With each illustration depicting a voyage of the imagination, Di Fate skillfully crafts the worlds of tomorrow with the ideas of the future. From space adventures to futuristic creatures, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial invasions, Hugo Award-winner Vincent Di Fate has advanced the realms of science fiction, fantasy, and art through his many achievements.